Wisconsin is bad. Up is down. Basketballs are oblong.

What’s Bo Ryan doing these days?

But for Wisconsin revealing their mediocrity (“bad” is probably too harsh), week five was relatively uneventful in the Big Ten. As I predicted, UCLA/Michigan was an entertaining matchup, Chicago State set records for futility against Northwestern, and LaVar Ball found another historic program for the Big Ballers to define.

It’s week six, and its non-conference rivalry szn™ (@ESPN don’t steal that).

Let’s get it.

Game of the Week:

-Butler Bulldogs vs. Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue has recovered beautifully from a couple tough Thanksgiving tournament losses, picking up a couple conference wins a couple solid non-con wins as well. A matchup with Butler in the opening session of the always-entertaining Crossroads Classic will be a huge test for the Boilermakers, however.

Butler is 3-0 against Purdue in this event. Purdue is only 1-5 overall, winning for the first time last year against Notre Dame. This is a different Purdue team, however. Once you throw out a couple wonky losses in the Bahamas and take a quick look at the numbers, you’ll see this is a top-10 team in the country. Losing to a good-not-great Butler team would qualify as a major letdown.

Honorable Mention:

- Kansas Jayhawks at Nebraska Cornhuskers

A couple weeks ago, this wouldn’t have seemed like a particularly great matchup, border “rivalry” aside. Suddenly, however, after a couple home losses for Kansas and a some home-court feistiness from Nebraska, this looks like it could be appointment TV for diehard Big Ten fans.

As has been the theme during Tim Miles’ tenure, the Cornhuskers won’t overwhelm you on the offensive end. But a balanced attack, this year led by a couple of transfers in James Palmer Jr. and Isaac Copeland, combined with solid defense makes them a tough out in Lincoln. The Huskers will need Glynn Watson Jr. and others to get it going from deep if they want to knock off the Jayhawks, but it doesn’t seem as far-fetched as it once did.

-Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Indiana Hoosiers

The second session of the Crossroads Classic.

Notre Dame is the better team this year, and their potent offense could overwhelm an Indiana team that ranks last in the Big Ten in KenPom’s defensive efficiency metric.History, however, would suggest this should be a dogfight. Indiana has won two of the three Crossroads matchups while dominating the all-time series. I’m putting my chips on a close Irish win.

Worst Game of the Week:

- The Citadel Bulldogs at Ohio State Buckeyes

I’ve only been able to catch maybe six or seven of The Citadel’s games this year, and I haven’t been particularly impressed. In fact, I except Ohio State to win by many points.

Season Stats:

Game of the Week Appearances by Team:

• Michigan – 1
• Michigan State – 2
• Purdue – 2
• Wisconsin – 1

Game of the Week Honorable Mention Appearances by Team:

• Indiana – 1
• Iowa – 1
• Maryland – 1
• Minnesota – 4
• Nebraska – 1
• Northwestern – 1
• Penn State – 1
• Wisconsin – 2

Total Appearances by Team:

• Indiana – 1
• Iowa – 1
• Maryland – 1
• Michigan – 1
• Michigan State – 2
• Minnesota – 4
• Nebraska – 1
• Northwestern – 1
• Penn State – 1
• Purdue – 2
• Wisconsin – 3

Worst Game Appearances by Team:

• Illinois – 1
• Iowa – 1
• Nebraska – 1
• Northwestern – 1
• Ohio State – 1
• Wisconsin – 1